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Monday, December 23, 2013

As I mentioned before, with my first book I didn't do much promoting. I didn't really understand the process. But now I've done lots of learnin' and I have a whole list of things to do. One that I'm pretty excited about is a virtual book launch party. Quick summary of a virtual book launch party: connect with readers online via a website or blog to celebrate the release, doing Q& A's, readings and giveaways. And I just found THE coolest giveaways for my book party!

Let me backtrack. Like most authors, I have rituals when I write. First, I have to have candy. Not the healthiest of habits, I know. But I need that sugary rush. My favorites are Twizzlers, Sweet Tarts and Life Savers Gummies. Second, I have to have my headphones on at full blast with a theme song on repeat. Seriously. I'll have a gazillion cavities and lose my hearing but I get all twitchy and distracted when I try to write without my two security blankets.

Back to the giveaways. Naturally I'll have free copies of The Sergeant up for grabs but I'll also be giving away several pairs of these candy themed headphones!

Cool, right? It's like they were made just for me. March 29th can't get here fast enough. So excited to
release The Sergeant and give a few lucky readers these super duper cool
headphones.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

I'm at the point in the book process where I can start promoting it. In order to do so however, I needed a book cover. I did some Googling to find out what the cover should look like. In a nutshell, for an e-book cover to come across as easy to view as a thumbnail, it needed to be free of small details that cluttered the image, have contrast between the font and background, and not be so smutty that Amazon rejects it. Sounds simple enough, but my Photoshop / graphic artist skills are less than zero. I knew I'd have to hire someone. Enter more Googling followed immediately by serious sticker shock. I know a cover artist's work is valuable but woah! No way I could afford those prices. Then I stumbled upon Melody Simmons. I liked her website. I liked her work. And I really liked her prices. Once I contacted her the whole process was easy. I let her know what I was looking for and she came up with this beauty:

I love it. After asking my Twitter and Facebook friends for some input I had her make a few adjustments. Several people suggested elements of SWAT and BDSM. I went back and forth on that, but ultimately decided against it. I had to remember to keep the cover clean. So I'll save those images for the back cover of the paper back version. I think that'll draw people in as they're reading the book blurb. Hopefully!

Here are my likes for the cover:
The colors. Very intense
The size difference between the two guys. Exactly how I picture them in my head.
The mood. Very sleek and sexy.
Front guy's expression. It threw me at first. But then I kept going back to it. Is he pouting as my friend Nat thinks? Is he trying to be tough like Feisty thinks? Or does he just have Zoolander cheekbones? I don't know, but to me it's interesting. He's got attitude.

My dislikes:
...

None! I really do love it. Fingers crossed readers love it as well. Let me know what you think of it in the comments!